By: Johnson S.B. No. 2112
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to resources used to ensure the continuous provision of
  power.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 382.069 to read as follows:
         Sec. 382.069.  TEXAS BACKUP POWER PACKAGE. (a) In this
  section, "Texas backup power package" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 418.401, Government Code.
         (b)  The commission by rule shall adopt a process to expedite
  the permitting of a Texas backup power package for which a permit is
  required under this chapter.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 418, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter K to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER K. TEXAS POWER PROMISE
         Sec. 418.401.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Fund" means the Texas power resiliency fund
  established by Section 49-q, Article III, Texas Constitution.
               (2)  "Texas backup power package" means a stand-alone,
  behind-the-meter, multiday backup power source that can be used for
  islanding.
               (3)  "Office" means the State Energy Conservation
  Office.
               (4)  "Trust company" means the Texas Treasury
  Safekeeping Trust Company.
         Sec. 418.402.  PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
  facilitate and provide funding for: 
               (1)  the design, procurement, installation, and use of
  Texas backup power packages for facilities on which communities
  rely for health, safety, and well-being; and
               (2)  the procurement and use of mobile sources of
  backup power to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of
  communities.
         Sec. 418.403.  DIVISION AUTHORITY. (a) The division shall
  convene an advisory committee in the manner provided by Chapter
  2110, Government Code. The advisory committee must include a
  person to represent the office.
         (b)  The advisory committee shall recommend criteria for the
  division and the office to employ in making a grant or loan under
  this subchapter.
         (c)  The division shall contract with a research entity that
  has experience in microgrid design to analyze critical facility
  characteristics and requirements in this state and develop for
  Texas backup power packages:
               (1)  sets of specifications for standard backup power
  packages of various sizes that can serve most critical facilities
  in this state; and
               (2)  specifications for standard interconnection,
  communications, and controls for Texas backup power packages.
         Sec. 418.404.  TEXAS BACKUP POWER PACKAGES. (a) A grant or
  loan made under this subchapter may be provided only for the
  operation of a Texas backup power package that:
               (1)  is engineered to minimize operation costs;
               (2)  uses interconnection technology and controls that
  enable immediate islanding from the power grid and stand-alone
  operation for the host facility;
               (3)  is capable of operating for at least 48 continuous
  hours without refueling or connecting to a separate power source;
               (4)  is designed so that one or more Texas backup power
  packages can be aggregated on-site to serve not more than 2.5
  megawatts of load at the host facility;
               (5)  provides power sourced from:
                     (A)  a combination of natural gas or propane with
  photovoltaic panels and battery storage; or
                     (B)  battery storage on an electric school bus;
  and
               (6)  is not used by the owner or host facility for the
  sale of energy or ancillary services.
         (b)  Texas backup power packages may be aggregated and
  operated to support the power grid under emergency conditions if
  the operation does not compromise a Texas backup power package's
  capability to provide power to its host facility for at least 24
  hours of operation without refueling or connecting to a separate
  power source.
         Sec. 418.405.  GRANTS AND LOANS. (a) The division and the
  office shall collaborate to provide grants and loans under this
  subchapter.
         (b)  The office is responsible for awarding grants and loans
  and entering into agreements under this subchapter. The office by
  rule may establish procedures for:
               (1)  the application for and award of a grant or loan
  under this subchapter; and
               (2)  the administration of the fund.
         (c)  The amount of a grant provided under this subchapter may
  not exceed $500 per kilowatt of capacity.
         (d)  The office may provide a loan under this subchapter for
  procurement and operating costs.
         (e)  The office shall maintain and publish a list of approved
  vendors eligible to assist with the sale, installation, operation,
  and ongoing maintenance of Texas backup power packages.
         (f)  The office may not provide a grant or loan under this
  subchapter for:
               (1)  a commercial energy system, a private school, or a
  for-profit entity that does not directly serve public safety and
  human health; or
               (2)  a source of backup power that does not follow the
  design and use standards of a Texas backup power package.
         (g)  A grant or loan awarded by this office under this
  subchapter is not subject to a restriction on repayment imposed by
  Chapter 447 or 2305 on other grants or loans awarded by the office.
         Sec. 418.406.  MOBILE BACKUP POWER FLEET. The division may
  use money from the fund to procure and deploy mobile sources of
  backup power to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of
  communities.
         Sec. 418.407.  FUND. (a) The Texas power resiliency fund is
  a special fund in the state treasury outside the general revenue
  fund to be administered and used, without further appropriation,
  by:
               (1)  the office for the purposes described by Section
  418.405; and
               (2)  the division for the purposes described by Section
  418.406. 
         (b)  The fund and the fund's accounts are kept and held by the
  trust company for and in the name of the office. The office has
  legal title to money and investments in the fund until money is
  disbursed from the fund as provided by this subchapter and office
  rules.
         (c)  Money deposited to the credit of the fund may be used
  only as provided by this subchapter.
         (d)  The fund consists of:
               (1)  money transferred or deposited to the credit of
  the fund by or as authorized by law, including money from any source
  transferred or deposited to the credit of the fund at the office's
  discretion;
               (2)  revenue, including the proceeds of any fee,
  assessment, or tax imposed by this state, that general law
  dedicates for deposit to the credit of the fund; and
               (3)  investment earnings and interest earned on money
  in the fund.
         Sec. 418.408.  MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT OF FUND. (a) The
  trust company shall hold and invest the fund, and any accounts
  established in the fund, for and in the name of the office, taking
  into account the purposes for which money in the fund may be used.
  The fund may be invested with the state treasury pool.
         (b)  The overall objective for the investment of the fund is
  to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet the needs of the fund while
  striving to preserve the purchasing power of the fund.
         (c)  The trust company has any power necessary to accomplish
  the purposes of managing and investing the assets of the fund. In
  managing the assets of the fund, through procedures and subject to
  restrictions the trust company considers appropriate, the trust
  company may acquire, exchange, sell, supervise, manage, or retain
  any kind of investment that a prudent investor, exercising
  reasonable care, skill, and caution, would acquire or retain in
  light of the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other
  circumstances of the fund then prevailing, taking into
  consideration the investment of all the assets of the fund rather
  than a single investment.
         (d)  The trust company may charge fees to cover its costs
  incurred in managing and investing the fund. The fees must be
  consistent with the fees the trust company charges other state and
  local governmental entities for which it provides investment
  management services. The trust company may recover fees it charges
  under this subsection only from the earnings of the fund.
         (e)  The trust company annually shall provide a written
  report to the office with respect to the investment of the fund.
  The trust company shall contract with a certified public accountant
  to conduct an independent audit of the fund annually and shall
  present the results of each annual audit to the office. This
  subsection does not affect the state auditor's authority to conduct
  an audit of the fund under Chapter 321.
         (f)  The trust company shall adopt a written investment
  policy that is appropriate for the fund. The trust company shall
  present the investment policy to the investment advisory board
  established under Section 404.028. The investment advisory board
  shall submit to the trust company recommendations regarding the
  policy.
         (g)  The office annually shall provide to the trust company a
  forecast of the cash flows into and out of the fund. The office
  shall provide updates to the forecasts as appropriate to ensure
  that the trust company is able to achieve the objective specified by
  Subsection (b).
         (h)  The trust company shall disburse money from the fund as
  directed by the office.
         (i)  An investment-related contract entered into under this
  section is not subject to Chapter 2260.
         SECTION 3.  Section 38.076, Utilities Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
         (c-1)  The commission shall require transmission and
  distribution utilities to use good faith efforts to ensure that no
  distribution feeder is subject to load shedding for more than four
  consecutive hours in a six-hour period.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
  amended by adding Section 39.919 to read as follows:
         Sec. 39.919.  TEXAS BACKUP POWER PACKAGES. (a) In this
  section, "Texas backup power package" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 418.401, Government Code.
         (b)  The commission by rule shall adopt procedures to
  expedite electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, and
  electric utility interconnection requests for Texas backup power
  packages.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect on the date on which the
  constitutional amendment proposed by the 88th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2023, providing for the creation of the Texas power
  resiliency fund to finance backup power sources takes effect. If
  that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no
  effect.